1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a magazine receiver opening of a pistol.
2. Background of the Invention
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of firearm that uses a magazine for the storage and subsequent delivery of rounds of ammunition, or cartridges, to the chamber. A magazine holds a finite number of rounds. When the magazine is empty, it can be ejected from the firearm and replaced by another full magazine. Compared to a revolver or other type of firearm, a firearm that uses a magazine significantly speeds the process of reloading the firearm, allowing the user rapid access to a relatively large amount of ammunition in a relatively short span of time. An example of a pistol that uses a magazine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 984,519 to Browning, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Semi-automatic pistols produced in accordance with the Browning patent have been manufactured in large volume for use by the military, use .45 caliber ammunition and are popularly known by the trademark and referred to as the “COLT®45”.
The replacement of a magazine requires the user to align the fresh magazine with the pistol magazine receiver opening. If the user is in a stressful environment, however, and especially if time is of the essence, then the proper alignment of the magazine with the pistol magazine receiver opening can become more difficult and time-consuming. Oftentimes, the user will waste precious seconds while attempting to properly align a fresh magazine with the magazine receiver opening and may fumble when trying to align and insert it. Examples of stressful environments for the user include organized competitive events, such as those held by the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) or the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), which are generally timed events. Other stressful environments include law enforcement or military use and/or field training exercises.
One solution to this problem has involved the use of a magazine insertion guide having a wide-angled opening.
Competitive shooters have been known to incur injuries to the portion of their hand that is gripping the pistol in the vicinity of the butt when the other hand fails to get the upper end of the fresh magazine in proper alignment.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,370 to Smith et al. discloses a wide-angled bifurcated opening magazine entrance guide extension of a pistol mainspring housing. The extension of the grip and provision of the wide-angled magazine receiver entrance guide is provided in a unitary structure with the pistol mainspring housing. The extended structure is attached to the pistol in the same manner as a stock mainspring housing without any machining alteration of the basic stock pistol.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,370 has been commercially produced and cannot be easily installed, removed, and/or replaced by the average gun enthusiast. For example, the device requires the removal and insertion of a main spring housing pin and a main spring cap pin, respectively, each time the user wishes to interchange the device. The tasks are difficult because the user must (1) first align the main spring housing pin with the openings in the grip and the opening through the mainspring housing; and (2) then align the spring cap pin with a housing opening whilst not disturbing the leafspring, which is held in place by the mainspring housing, whose proper situation is delicate, and without which the firearm will not operate. The device has proved difficult to install and remove by the average user and the services of a gunsmith are used.
Furthermore, certain law enforcement agents are required to carry their firearms at all times. However, when these agents arrive at a competitive shooting event, they may wish to switch from a model more suitable for, the constant wear to a model more suitable for competition.
By reason of the inconveniences above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a pistol magazine receiver opening that can be easily secured to the pistol by the average user and without the aid and skills of a gunsmith.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an assembly for facilitating the insertion of a fresh magazine into a pistol magazine receiver opening, which allows fast and easy interchangeability of several different sized magazine insertion guides with other common elements of the firearm.